The Board of Deputies has called on Jews throughout Britain to reach out to beyond the Jewish community, at an oversubscribed conference at JW3.
Edwin Shuker, in his first speech as the new Board of Deputies Vice-President with responsibility for interfaith, opened the day by setting out his vision for the Board of Deputies to bring people of different faiths act together.
He said: “It is not enough for people of different faiths to tolerate each other. We Jews must reach out to others, and identify our shared challenges and interests. I want the Board of Deputies to be at the centre of interfaith activity in Britain.”
Jewish delegates from across the country were able to put their questions to a variety of speakers.
Ravinder Kaur Nijjar – Chair of Religions for Peace UK Women of Faith Network – revealed the 100 year history of Sikh-Jewish connections.
Revd Dr Keith Magee – Senior Religious Affairs Advisor with Obama for America – spoke movingly of the Jewish and African-American shared experience of racism, and the role of faith in Black-Jewish Relations.
Yousif Al-Khoei – executive director of the Al-Khoei Foundation – who spoke alongside Phil Rosenberg, Public Affairs Director at the Board of Deputies, challenged the audience to think about anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism as two sides of the same coin.
Dr Dave Rich – Head of Policy at the CST – was interviewed by Rabbi David Mason, covering the thorny issues of antisemitism and extremism in interfaith relations.
Board of Deputies Vice-President Amanda Bowman closed the event and reflected on the calibre of the speakers.
Photo: (left to right) edwin Shuker, Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, Revd Dr Keith Magee, Yousif Al-Khoei